


A Surprise in the Dark

by goingtothetardis



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fireflies (sort of), Fluff, Kissing, Prompt Fic, SO MUCH FLUFF, Surprise Trip, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 08:17:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16719726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goingtothetardis/pseuds/goingtothetardis
Summary: The Doctor surprises Rose with a trip to a special planet for an unusual light show.





	A Surprise in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WordsInTimeAndSpace](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordsInTimeAndSpace/gifts).



> Wordsintimeandspace prompted: Ten/Rose + Darkness
> 
> Um, this was supposed to be a tiny fic, but it got a bit out of control, and it's a bit longer than I expected it to be. I blame the fact that I'm decorating my house for Christmas today, and I'm all in that winter/Christmas light sort of mood. 
> 
> Unbeta'd. Enjoy!

Rose holds the Doctor’s hand tightly as he leads her to whatever mystery surprise he has for her today. He’d refused to divulge any information about the location, despite her best attempts at persuading him to share, save for the fact that she needed to bundle up in many layers of winter clothes. 

She’d even put her chin on his shoulder and blinked innocently at him with slightly pouty lips, and  _ that _ tactic, the one that  _ never _ fails to get her what she wants, hadn’t even worked. 

Tuning her thoughts back to the present, Rose struggles to figure out where the Doctor’s taking her, even though she knows it’s impossible to figure it out, given the depth of possibilities with all of time and space available to them. He’d blindfolded her before stepping out of the TARDIS – never mind the gutter her thoughts had fallen into with _ that  _ – and promptly led her by the elbow outside into a place so cold, it took her breath away.

Now, several minutes later, Rose walks in the darkness, clinging to the Doctor. What she assumes is snow crunches noisily under her feet, and with her sight taken away, her other senses are on full alert. Wind whispers through trees and something that makes her think of Christmas grows stronger with each step they take toward their destination. 

“Doctor, are we almost there?” Rose asks. 

“Almost, just a few more minutes,” the Doctor responds.

“Good, ‘cause I’m freezin’. I hope wherever we’re going has hot chocolate.”

“Oh, er,  _ welllllll…” _ the Doctor starts, clearly hesitating about something, and as his clothes rustles next to her, Rose she imagines the Doctor rubbing the back of his neck. “You’ll have to wait a bit longer. There’s something I want you to see first.” 

“Still aren’t gonna tell me, are you?” Rose asks, smiling softly as they walk through the snow.

“Nope!” the Doctor answers, popping his ‘p’ like he knows how insanely curious she is. 

They walk together for several more minutes in a companionable silence before the Doctor tugs Rose to a stop. He releases her hand and takes a step behind her to untie the blindfold. 

Before letting it fall, he leans over her shoulder and whispers in her ear. “Keep your eyes closed.”

Rose shivers from more than the cold air and shifts side to side impatiently as she waits. 

When the Doctor takes her hand, Rose stills and waits for the Doctor’s cue. 

“Open your eyes,” he whispers again, the stubble of his cheek brushing against her ear making her shiver in response. 

Rose opens her eyes and gasps. It’s dark – completely so, not even a moon in the sky – and she can’t even see the Doctor standing next to her. Squeezing his hand, she scoots closer and presses her cheek against his arm. 

“What is it?” she whispers, continuing his cue, and looks around blindly.

“Just wait.”

Suddenly, a tiny light appears to Rose’s right, and she focuses on the bright glow. It rises from what she assumes is the ground and flits around in the darkness. Within moments, several other lights rise from the ground and dart around the area. 

“What are they?” Rose peers at the lights, which seem to be multiplying by the second. “They look like fireflies. But... I thought those were only summer bugs.”

She watches, spellbound, as the tiny lights flicker brightly, illuminating the area in a warm glow as their numbers grow. The effect is rather breathtaking, and Rose watches in awe as snow laden trees and ground come into view as the number of creatures increase. 

“They’re called, in the common tongue of this planet, fest light beetles.” The Doctor chuckles when Rose makes a face. “They’re scientific name is lampyridaenden, and yes, they’re quite similar to the fireflies of Earth.” 

“Fest light beetles,” Rose repeats, wondering about their name. “Why’s that, then? Fest light.”

“Do they remind you of anything?” the Doctor asks.

“Fairy lights at Christmas, yeah?”

The Doctor beams and squeezes Rose’s hand. “Very good. The beetles lie dormant here all year until exactly five days before the winter festival in the village of Ramoonde, one of three primary villages in the single mountain range of this planet, Traboonde. The trees surrounding the village of Ramoonde provide the food they need to survive for another year.”

“An’ the beetles provide all the lights for the winter festival?” Rose offers her guess.

“Not all the lights, but most of them, yes. For five days, the village draws visitors from all over to see the beetles inadvertently light up the village as they feed and mate. It’s a constantly moving light display, and it’s quite brilliant,” the Doctor explains. “We’ll go there next to see it, and that’s where you can get your hot chocolate.”

Rose lets his words sink in as she watches the fest light beetles dance around the copse of trees. Hundreds, perhaps thousands more, have appeared since they first arrived, since that first singular light captured her attention. 

A smile spreads across her face as she watches the beetles, once again captivated by one of the wonders of the universe she’d have never seen without the Doctor. She glances at him to say thank you, but the words catch in her throat when she finds him looking not at the beetles, but at her with an expression of such longing on his face that she blinks in surprise. 

The Doctor’s eyes are dark, focused solely on her, and when Rose wets her bottom lip in hopeful anticipation, his gaze flicks down to her mouth. Knowing how it’s distracted him before, she flashes him a tongue touched smile.

“This is brilliant, Doctor. I love it. I love all of this, traveling with you, seeing all these wonderful things.” 

Rose pauses for a moment, gazing at the Doctor, before swallowing her apprehension. She stands on her toes and kisses him lightly on the mouth, hoping with all her heart that he’ll kiss back, and within seconds, he responds. The Doctor hums happily as her tongue runs along the bottom lip she’s fantasised about more times than she can count, and he pulls her into his arms as he deepens the kiss. 

Several moments later, Rose pulls back, breathless, with a tingling warmth spreading throughout her body. She’d just shared a bloody  _ brilliant _ snog with the Doctor, and he’s not running away in the opposite direction. Despite his obvious desire to continue the kiss, the Doctor looks vaguely skittish after she pulls away. 

“You think you’re so impressive,” she jokes, hoping some humor will quell his anxiety. 

“I  _ am _ so impressive.” The Doctor smiles, bright and cocky, and Rose rolls her eyes. There it is.

“You’re just showing off for a snog.” 

The Doctor shrugs, clearly unrepentant. 

“You could have just asked, you know.”

His eyes widen. “Really?” 

“Yes,” Rose says with a laugh. “But I’m glad you took me here. ‘S gorgeous.”

“Yeah, it is,” the Doctor agrees, but when she looks at him, he’s once more staring at her instead of the beetles. 

Now that she knows it’s allowed, Rose responds by grabbing the lapels of his coat and pulling his mouth down to hers. 

The festival can sod off for a while longer. Rose Tyler’s got a Time Lord to snog. 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at goingtothetardis.tumblr.com!!


End file.
